Plex

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Streaming service and media server

title: "Plex" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2009-software", "android-(operating-system)-software", "internet-television-streaming-services", "ios-software", "playstation-3-software", "playstation-4-software", "playstation-5-software", "xbox-360-software", "xbox-one-software", "xbox-series-x-and-series-s-software", "macos-media-players", "media-servers", "online-retailers-of-the-united-states", "software-companies-of-the-united-states", "software-forks", "streaming-media-systems", "streaming-software", "subscription-video-on-demand-services", "tvos-software", "universal-windows-platform-apps", "windows-media-players", "advertising-video-on-demand", "television-operating-systems"] description: "Streaming service and media server" topic_path: "technology/operating-systems" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plex" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Streaming service and media server ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

FieldValue
namePlex Inc.
logoPlex logo 2022.svg
typePrivate
founded
founders
locationCampbell, California, U.S.
key_people{{ubl
products{{Plainlist
num_employees≈ 100 (2019)
website
::

| name = Plex Inc. | logo = Plex logo 2022.svg | type = Private | founded = | founders = | location = Campbell, California, U.S. | key_people = {{ubl|class=nowrap | Keith Valory | (president and CEO)}} | industry = | products = {{Plainlist|

  • OTT platform
  • Client–server software |}} | assets = | equity = | divisions = | num_employees = ≈ 100 (2019) | website = | footnotes =

Plex Inc. is an American software and media streaming company. It runs its namesake ad-supported streaming television service and develops media server software that enables users to stream their personal media collections to their devices. Plex had 16 million streaming subscribers as of 2023. It is based in Campbell, California.

History

Plex began as a freeware hobby project in December 2007 when developer Elan Feingold created a media center application for his Mac by porting the media player XBMC (since renamed Kodi) to Mac OS X. Around the same time, Cayce Ullman and Scott Olechowskisoftware executives who had recently sold their previous company to Ciscowere also looking to port XBMC to Mac OS X, and noticed Feingold's progress in the XBMC online forums. They contacted him and offered support and funding, and they formed a three-person team in January 2008.

The team released early versions of the port, called OSXBMC, intended for eventual full integration into Mac OS X. The developers continued collaborating with the Linux-based XBMC project until May 21, 2008. Due to different goals from the XBMC team, they forked the code that became Plex, and published it on GitHub. The OSXBMC code was kept roughly in sync with the upstream XBMC code. In July 2008, the project was renamed Plex.

In December 2009, Plex, Inc. was incorporated with Ullman as CEO (chief executive officer) and Feingold as chief technology officer (CTO). At that time, Plex had 130 apps, the most popular of which were viewers for iTunes movie trailers, YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, MTV music videos, the BBC iPlayer and Vimeo. Keith Valory became president and CEO in 2013.

In December 2019, Plex launched an ad-supported streaming service of movies and television shows from content sources including Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, MGM, Lionsgate, Regency Enterprises and Legendary Entertainment. , Plex had about 100 global employees.

Plex started offering FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) services in 2019 and announced in April 2024 that it had over a thousand channels in its FAST line-up, including an NFL Channel.

In February 2024, Plex started offering films through Plex TV for rental. In April 2024, Plex partnered with T-Mobile.

Plex Media Server

| name = Plex Media Server | logo = | logo alt = | logo caption = | collapsible = | author = | developer = | released = | discontinued = | latest release version = | latest preview date = | programming language = | operating system = {{Plainlist|

Plex Media Server (PMS) is software that enables users to create a client–server for movies, television shows, photos, and music. Free Plex accounts can share personal media libraries among a user's own collection of devices at home. Plex Media Server organizes movie and television content and adds posters, plot summaries, cast and crew lists, technical details, critical reviews, and subtitles. Plex Media Server is also capable of transcoding files if the codec is incompatible with the device playing the media. Plex does not support DVD and Blu-ray disk images and menus. Plex Media Server can run on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker, some NAS devices, some Netgear routers and the Nvidia Shield TV. For music content, it can automatically organize files by metadata tags such as title, artist, album, genre, year, and popularity.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Plex_for_Web_interface.png" caption="Plex Web App is a browser-based interface for users to manage libraries, server settings, and watch content."] ::

A Plex Media Server can function as a home theater PC and can stream content to Plex's front-end media player client applications that run on a myriad of devices and web browsers. The media player applications are Plex, Plex Web App, Plexamp and Plex Dash, which provide a way for the user to manage and play content from a Plex server.

Plex also offers Plex Pass, an optional paid-subscription service that adds additional features to its server software and player apps such as hardware accelerated video encoding, mobile synchronization, metadata fetching for music, multi-user support, parental controls, over-the-top live TV and DVR, trailers, extras, and cross-selling offers. Remote streaming was a feature for free accounts until it was made exclusive to Plex Pass and Remote Watch Pass subscribers beginning April 2025.

In 2016, Plex launched Plex Cloud for Plex Pass subscribers, which supported cloud-based servers. Plex's launch partner was Amazon, and the service was compatible with Amazon Cloud Drive. Users were critical of the service, noting that Amazon seemed to impose upload limits. The service also supported OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive. The service was discontinued in November 2018 amid technical problems and concerns of copyright infringement.

Plex Media Server has often been associated with copyright infringement. In 2019, The Verge headlined that Plex "makes piracy just another streaming service".

Plex app

Plex's front-end media player client applications run on multiple platforms including Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, PlayStation, Sonos, webOS, Windows and Xbox. Apps on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets required a one-time $5 activation fee to stream from a server until April 2025. Plex's apps largely rely on the native video player and supported codecs of the streaming device's operating system. In 2018, Plex began rolling out the Enhanced Media Player based on mpv to support additional codecs on select devices.

Plexamp

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Screenshot_of_Plexamp_interface_being_shown_on_a_Linux_desktop.png" caption="language=en-US}}"] ::

Streaming media

In 2019, Plex introduced an ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) streaming service and free-to-stream live TV channels Its content partners include Warner Bros. Television Studios, MGM, Lionsgate, Legendary, Crackle, Endemol Shine, Shout! Studios, Regency Enterprises, Kidoodle TV and A24. Plex can also be used as a client for Tidal and hosts podcasts. In 2022, Plex added a "Discovery" feature which aggregates content from other streaming media sources. As of 2023, Plex had 16 million active monthly streaming users.

In 2020, Plex announced that it would introduce a movie and television show rental marketplace. Its movie rental service launched in February 2024. The rental service was criticized for its inability to purchase rentals directly on Apple TV and Fire TV devices, limited selection, and video and audio quality limited to 1080p and 5.1 surround sound, compared other services offer that offer 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos movie rentals for the same price.

References

References

  1. Plex. (2021-04-14). "Streaming Media Platform Plex Raises $50 Million in Growth Equity to Become the One-Stop-Shop for Movies and TV".
  2. (July 30, 2014). "Behind the App: The Story of Plex".
  3. "Scott Olechowski Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search".
  4. (2008-07-05). "Announcing Plex".
  5. Stephen, Bijan. (July 23, 2019). "Plex makes piracy just another streaming service".
  6. "Plex, Inc. Company Profile - Bloomberg Markets".
  7. Newman, Jared. (2017-02-19). "Plex's Bold Plan To Take On The Streaming Goliaths". Fast Company.
  8. Salkowitz, Rob. "With Warner Bros Partnership, Plex Looks To Flex Its Media Muscles".
  9. (September 18, 2019). "Plex partners with Lionsgate to expand its ad-supported video library".
  10. (January 8, 2020). "Plex Is Making Itself Impossible to Ignore as a Go-To Streaming Service".
  11. Ricker, Thomas. (November 29, 2018). "Plex now streams cheap Tidal music subscriptions".
  12. (August 29, 2019). "Plex will stream free, ad-supported Warner Bros. movies and TV shows".
  13. Roettgers, Janko. (August 29, 2019). "Inside Plex's Quest to Become a One-Stop Shop for Digital Media".
  14. Roettgers, Janko. (August 29, 2019). "Inside Plex's Quest to Become a One-Stop Shop for Digital Media".
  15. Salkowitz, Rob. "Venerable Video App Plex Emerges As FAST Favorite".
  16. Purdy, Kevin. (2024-02-08). "Plex, where people typically avoid Hollywood fees, now offers movie rentals". Ars Technica.
  17. Sanderson, Kirk. (April 30, 2024). "Plex Strikes Partnership With T-Mobile to Expand Wireless Network Operator's CTV Inventory".
  18. "Transcoding Media".
  19. "Why are ISO, VIDEO_TS, and other Disk Image Formats Not Supported?".
  20. "Best Media Streaming Devices - Live streaming apps powered by Plex".
  21. "How do I set up my Plex Media Server on my Nighthawk X10 R9000 router?".
  22. Wanke, Kevin. (2023-09-18). "The Great Docker Migration".
  23. (October 15, 2016). "Plex Media Server {{!}} 2021 Plex Pass Cost, Pricing, Plans & Free Trial".
  24. "What Is Plex?".
  25. (April 16, 2020). "Media software maker Plex launches new subscriber-only apps for music and server management".
  26. (July 15, 2020). "What Is Plex Pass? 10 Features Worth Paying For In 2020".
  27. Roth, Emma. (2025-03-19). "Plex Pass is going up in price — and now you'll need it for remote playback".
  28. Perez, Sarah. (2016-09-26). "Plex partners with Amazon to launch a hardware-free media server, Plex Cloud".
  29. Perez, Sarah. (2016-12-02). "Amazon isn't playing nice with Plex's new cloud service".
  30. Roettgers, Janko. (2018-09-11). "Plex Shuts Down Its Cloud Service".
  31. "What is Plex Pass, anyway?".
  32. Hollington, Jesse. (2018-12-06). "Plex begins rolling out Enhanced Video Player in Apple TV and iOS apps".
  33. Perez, Sarah. (2023-07-18). "Plex's Winamp-inspired music player Plexamp is now free".
  34. Perez, Sarah. (2023-05-03). "Plex's music player, Plexamp, now works with ChatGPT for playlist creation".
  35. Honorof, Marshall. (April 26, 2020). "What is Plex? Everything you need to know".
  36. Welch, Chris. (2019-12-04). "Plex launches its free movie and TV streaming service".
  37. (August 29, 2019). "Plex is launching its own ad-supported video service, starting with content from Warner Bros. TV".
  38. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (August 25, 2020). "Atari VCS Will Offer Streaming Service Plex Following Game Console's November Launch".
  39. Harley, Nick. (2022-07-13). "The Best A24 Movies Streaming on Plex in July".
  40. Perez, Sarah. (2018-11-29). "Plex teams with TIDAL to bring a discounted streaming music subscription to its media app".
  41. Clark, Mitchell. (2022-04-06). "Plex's latest beta features can help you navigate every streaming service you have".
  42. Plex. "Plex Closes Year with Billions of Minutes Watched; Doubles YOY Viewership".
  43. Perez, Sarah. (2023-01-05). "Streamer Plex finally ready to launch a TV and movie rentals marketplace".
  44. Purdy, Kevin. (2024-02-08). "Plex, where people typically avoid Hollywood fees, now offers movie rentals".
  45. (2024-02-08). "Plex is now in the movie rental business, with a catch or two".
  46. (8 February 2024). "Plex launches a movie rental store – limited to 1080p, 5.1 surround".
  47. "PlexMediaServer Translations - Get Localization".
  48. (January 15, 2010). "CrunchGear Interview: We talk to the lead developer of Plex Media Center for Mac OS X: It was doing Boxee-like stuff before Boxee was cool".
  49. (April 29, 2008). "Interview with the OSXBMC Developers – Automated Home".
  50. (May 23, 2008). "XBMC for Mac forked for a separate project called PLEX (formerly known as "OSXBMC")".
  51. Anderson, Kevin. (October 7, 2009). "Thinking inside the box".
  52. (August 25, 2015). "What metadata can an m4a file hold and how do I get at it?".
  53. "Plex Terms of Service – Plex Media Server".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

2009-softwareandroid-(operating-system)-softwareinternet-television-streaming-servicesios-softwareplaystation-3-softwareplaystation-4-softwareplaystation-5-softwarexbox-360-softwarexbox-one-softwarexbox-series-x-and-series-s-softwaremacos-media-playersmedia-serversonline-retailers-of-the-united-statessoftware-companies-of-the-united-statessoftware-forksstreaming-media-systemsstreaming-softwaresubscription-video-on-demand-servicestvos-softwareuniversal-windows-platform-appswindows-media-playersadvertising-video-on-demandtelevision-operating-systems